Container



'taken online v3-3 of Figure 2;

Patented Apr. 11, 1944 CONTAINER Herman Merker and Howard L. Newton, Milwaukee, Wis., assignors to Pressed Steel Tank Company, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application July 25, 1942, Serial No.V 452,282

Claims. (Cl. 217-107) This invention relates to a container especially adapted for use with beer or other carbonated beverages, and is in the nature of an improvement of the invention described and claimed in our application for United States Letters Pat- I ent, for Container, iiled January 7, 1939, Ser. No. 249,684, now matured into Patent No. 2,293,- 943.

The object of the present invention is to simplify the construction of a device of this kind so constituted as to facilitate its assembly and disassembly and yet provide for the secure though releasable locking of the parts in the assembly.

in such manner as to hermetically seal the container. 4 l y In containers of this kind the container or barrel has a single opening through which it is filled, cleaned, pitched, and tapped. A fitting is provided which makes it practical to quickly close the barrel immediately after it is filled with beer (and the nozzle of the racking arm, or the racking machine, removed) so as to avoid foaming and preclude loss of beer. Thereafter the fitting is permanently closed' and sealed, thus to provide a permanently closed package which cannot accidentally become opened, and yet be readily tapped at the point of use in the ordinary manner. Furthermore, when the barrel is to be refilled, the fitting may be readily opened.

' The present invention incorporates in the construction a simple though readily releasable and highly effective spring lock therebyV avoiding the necessity of resorting to the use of threaded parts. Furthermore, the parts are so constructed and organized that While the container may be readily and easily hermetically sealed or opened as required, this is accomplished in such a special Way as to avoidwear and tear on the gasket employed to effect the hermetic seal.

Other objects and advantages reside in certain novel features of the construction, arrangement,

' and combination of parts, which will be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference ybeing had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, and in which:

Figure 1 is a View in diagrammatic vertical section taken on line I-I of Figure 2 and showing a construction embodying the present invention, only a fragment of the beer barrel being illustrated;

Figure 2 is a View in top tion shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is al view in vertical plan of the construcc'ross ysection Figure 4 is a view in top plan of the barrel fitting, after the fitting, locking ring, spring Wire lock, and gasket are removed;

Figure 5 is a view in vertical cross section taken on line 5 5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a view in top plan of the tap fitting;

I Figure 7 is a view in top plan of the camming ring;

Figure 8 is a view in vertical cross section taken on line 8-8 of Figure 7 and Figure 9 is a fragmentary diagrammatic` view partly in elevation and partly in section illustrating the coaction 0f the camming lugs of the camming ring and the camming lugs of the barrel fitting.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral I designates a fragment of beer barrel which may be constructed in any suitable Way but preferably in the manner shown and described in our application above referred to. The barrel is provided with a single opening 2 sufficiently large to permit of lling, cleaning, pitching, and tapping therethrough, and is equipped with a special fitting structure designated as a whole at F which makes these operations practical and convenient.

The fitting structure comprises a short, cylindrical barrel fitting 3 which has an inturned flange 4 around its lower end and an outturned flange 5 around its upper end. The peripheral portion of the lower end of the barrel fitting is channeled or cut away as at 6 to adapt it to intert With the margin of the opening 2. A -Weld 1 between the fitting 3 and the barrel I permanently secures the barrel fitting 3 in place. The under face of the inturned flange 4 of the .barrel tting 3 is rounded as at 8 to provide for free drainage when the barrel is inverted for pitching or washing. The top face of the flange 4 is machined to provide a gasket seat 9 on which an annular gasket I0 is disposed. Fixed camming lugs I I are formed integral with the barrel fitting 3 and project inwardly from the inner peripheral wall thereof. These fixed camming lugs are angularly spaced and are located about midway between the top and bottom of the barrel fitting. There are three such fixed camming lugs II, all of equal length and angularly spaced a distance approximately equal to their angular extent. The under surfaces of the lugs Il are inclined or sloped circumferentially, as `indicated at I2, to provide the active camming surfaces of the lugs. The upper surfaces of the lugs are beveled inwardly and downwardly, as at I3, to facilitate assembly of the tap fitting now to be described.

A tap fitting, designated generally at l5, is provided and has a tubular body portion I6 provided with an outwardly extending, integral base iiange l1 at its lower end. The underside of the flange around the periphery thereof is channeledl and machined, as atk I3, to adapt it to have eective compressive and sealing engagement with the gasket Il). The upper end of the tubular body portion of the tap fitting is provided with the usualoutturned fiange I9 designed and adapted for cooperation with the standard tap. The bore or opening .through the tubular body portion of the tap fitting is closed by means of the usual cork or plug 20. The outside diameter of the base flange Il of the tap fitting is such that it may pass freely through the inner peripheral surfaces presented by the fixed camming lugs Il. At one point its base flange is provided with an outwardly directed integral key lug 2l designed to interfit a notch or key-way 22 formed in the barrel fitting 3 to prevent rotation of the tap fitting and consequent wear and tear on the gasket In.

- A camming ring, designated generally at 25, is

provided and the under surface of the ring 25 is,- machined smooth, as at 2.6, so as to have free rotating engagement with the top of the base 'flange il' of the tap bushing. Three camming lugs 2l are formed integral with the camming ring2'6 and project outwardly from equally angularly spaced peripheral portions thereof adjacent the bottom of the ring (see Figures 7 and 8).

`'The upper lsurfaces yof the camming lugs are sloped or inclined, as at 21', to adapt them to lcoact lwith the similarly inclined surfaces I2 of thevnxed camming lugs Il. The lugs 2'! are 'dirnensioned and proportioned to pass freely down through the spaces between the fixed lugs E i and below them the camming ring 25 and its lugs-2 are rotated to bring the camming sur- .faces l2 and 2l" into cooperative engagement whereby to force Tthe base rflange l'l of the tap fittingi firmly down against the gasket I and effect a hermetic seal. To facilitate turning of the camming ring 25 it is provided at spaced angular intervals with tool slots 28 adapted to r'e'ceive'and coact with a suitable tool. Four of liese tool slots-are shown, but only two are necessary to adapt the camming ring to be -inanipulated by the tool. One of such tool slots, however, is rnade to serve a useful functioning in connection with the spring locking of the cam 'ringin assembly, as will now be described.

' The inner periphery of the camming ring 2-5 is provided with an annular groove 29 interrupted, of course, by the tool slots 28. A spring wire lock, designated at 30, is provided and consists of a circular piece of spring steel wire, which is split and has an outturned locking end 3l extending through one of the tool slots 23 and ldesigned to project into a keeper opening 32 -provided in the barrel fitting 3 when the prorjecting or locking end 3| of the spring lock 3D cornes into registry with said opening 32. n

l the' assembly, the circular portion of the spring wire lock 3E! interfits with the groove 29, and, as

indicated, thevprojecting or locking portion 3| of this spring wire lock 30 projects through one ofthe toollslots 28 and thus the spring wire lock is' permanently retained and assembled with the camming ring 25 although it may be freely 'v flexed from ylocking to released position. This: latter operation is convenient and practical since the circular portion of the spring wire lock 30 is spaced from the adjacent body portion I6 of the tap fitting I5 which it surrounds.`

When the barrel is to be filled with beer, or to be cleaned or pitched, the projection 3l of the spring lock 3| is retracted so as to be pulled out of the keeper opening 32. The camming ring 25 is then rotated to move the camming lugs 21 out of engagement with the fixed camming lugs Il. The camming ring may then be pulled axially out of the barrel fitting and the tap fitting l5 may then be readily removed. By reversing this operation the tap fitting, camming ring, and spring "lock'may be returned to their assembled position. The tap fitting may be quickly put in place and held in engagement with the gasket 9 while the camming ring and spring lock are assembled.

While we have shown and described one construction in which the invention may be advantageously embodied, it is to vbe understood that the construction shown has been selected merely for the purpose of illustration or example, and that various changes in the size, shape, and arrangement of the parts may be made without .departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

We claim:

1. A barrel having an opening, a barrel fitting for said opening, said'barrel fitting having an inwardly extending fiange at its lower end presenting an upwardly facing gasket seat, a gasket on said seat, a tubular tap fitting positionable within the barrel fitting and engageable with said gasket, said tap fitting having an outturned flange on its upper end adapted for cooperation with a standard tap, a camming ring fittable over the tap fitting and positionable within said barrel fitting and having camming lugs, said barrel fitting having camming lugs coopera-ble with the camming lugs of the camming ring to force the tap fitting into compressing and sealing relation with the gasket, and a spring lock carried by the camming ring and cooperable with the barrel fitting to releasably retain the'camming ring 1n the position wherein it clamps the tap fitting in sealing position.

2. A barrel having an opening, a barrel fitting for said opening, said barrel fitting having an inwardly extending flange at its lower end presenting an upwardly facing gasket seat, a gasket on said seat, a tubular tap fitting positionable within the barrel fitting and having a base ring vengageable with the gasket, a camming ring fitof the ring are cooperable, cooperating means between the tap fitting and the barrel fitting to prevent rotation of the tap fitting relative to the barrel fitting and consequenly with respect to the gasket, and releasable means for securing the camming ring in the position wherein it clamps the tap fitting in sealing position.

3. A barrel having van opening, a barrel fitting for said opening, said barrel fitting having an inwardly extending flange at its lower end presenting an upwardly facing gasket seat, a gasket on said seat, a tubular tap fitting positioned within the barrel fitting and having a base ring adapted to have sealing engagement with the gasket, a camming ring fittable over the tap fitting and having outwardly directed camming lugs, said barrel fitting having fixed camming lugs with which the camming lugs of the ring are cooperable to force the base ring of the tap tting into sealing engagement with said gasket, and releasable locking means for retaining the camming ring in the position wherein it forces the base ring of the tap tting into sealing engagement with its gasket.

4. A barrel having an opening, a barrel iitting for said opening, said barrel tting having an inwardly extending iiange at its lower end presenting an upwardly :facing gasket seat, a gasket on said seat, a tubular tap tting positioned within the barrel fitting and having a base ring engagea-ble with the gasket, a camming ring ttable over the tap fitting and having outwardly directed camming lugs, said barrel fitting having fixed camming lugs with which the camming lugs of the camming ring are cooperable to force the base ring of the tap tting into sealing engagement with said gasket, the inner periphery of the camming ring having an annular inwardly facing groove interrupted by radial tool slots, and a spring wire lock having Ia circular portion received in said annular groove and having an outturned locking end. extending through and projectible beyond one of the tool slots, said barrel tting having a keeper opening receiving said locking end of the spring lock when the camming ring is in the position wherein it clamps the tap fitting in sealing position.

5. A barrel having an opening, a, barrel tting for said opening provided with a gasket seat, a gasket on said seat, a tap fitting positionable within the barrel tting and adapted to have sealing engagement with the gasket, a camming ring fittable over the tap fitting and positionable within the barrel fitting and having camming lugs, said barrel tting having camming lugs cooperable with the camming lugs of the camming ring to force the tap fitting into compressing and sealing relation With the gasket, and releasable locking means for securing the camming ring in the position wherein it clamps the tap tting in compressing and sealing relation with said gasket.

HERMAN MERKER.. HOWARD L. NEWTON. 

